Nialli's unofficial blog on Virgin Media's UK cable TV services
August 12, 2010
Sky HD basics to arrive in September
According to renowned source Big Red, we'll have five Sky HD basics added to the non-subscription line up in September: Sky1, Sky News, Sky Arts 1, Sky Arts 2 and Sky Sports News. Don't know a definite date yet.
I hope we do get all them channels - that would be another pizza slice to VM if we get Sky Sports News!! Sky will have to change their billboards and newspaper adverts!!
My V+ HD capacity will really be tested once we get SKY 1 HD - some great shows on there. God knows how i would have coped when Lost and 24 were both running!
I use the following rule of thumb when recording at the moment: 1. Will I watch it before the next episode is shown? yes - HD, no - SD 2. Is it likely to be available in HD on Demand? yes - SD, no - HD (space permitting) Ridiculous that I'm paying over £1000 a year to Virgin and I have to restrict myself to 20 hours of recording.
yeah i agree. im the same, nearly £1200 a year when i get my VIP50 install and I cant even record all i want - oh well - im sure it will change in the future at some point.
I will defo have to follow your rule of thumb. Mine is getting me in to loads of trouble
1. did i record it? yes - keep it until i have watched it then delete
2. did the wife record it? yes - delete immediately.
I had planned to record Sky movies for the family in just SD, but they have noticed that the HD versions are sooooo much better and now I can't get away with that!
The microscopic HD is made far worse by Virgin's reliance on MPEG 2 encoding of course. If they'd had half a brain and used an MPEG 4 capable box when the TV Drive was in the planning stages we'd all have nearly twice the recording capacity.
As for the Sky basics, well Sky 1 used to have some decent stuff but is that still the case? The only show I'm watching now is Mad Men, which is currently internet only.
I'm also glad to hear we're getting these channels as I'm a fan of Sky Arts and some of the HBO stuff is certain to end up there.
I've written to Neil Berkett as well as noting when I've received surveys that they really need to increase the recording capacity of the V+ box. It can't hurt to reinforce this especially if it provides another revenue stream!
...If they'd had half a brain and used an MPEG 4 capable box when the TV Drive was in the planning stages we'd all have nearly twice the recording capacity. Actually, during the BBC HD quality debate, Sky themselves stated that all their channels, which are MPEG4, run at around 15mbit, so the difference between that and the majority of VM's HD channels running at around 17mbit isn't really all that great. Sky's movie channels on VM even run as low as 16mbit, and sat viewers will tell you just how crap MPEG4 HD looks at 10mbit, as was the problem for BBC HD, and you'd need to go as low as 8 or 9mbit to double your recording capacity from what it currently is.
I've heard people saying that you can phone up Virgin to upgrade to Sky Sports HD and they activate it within 20 mins or so. MY question is, does doing this any particular time of the month affect your bill in a way that would differ if you did it, lets say, the day your direct debit came out? I'm probably going to upgrade before the City v LIverpool game next Monday, but am wondering how much difference it would make, bill wise, to phoning up tonight and upgrading for the United v Newcastle game?
There are more knowledgeable people on here but I believe they will just charge you pro-rata for the month. So if you are half way through your month then they would just break down what it is daily and charge you for the days you have had it in the month - not a whole months charge.
11 comments:
I hope we do get all them channels - that would be another pizza slice to VM if we get Sky Sports News!! Sky will have to change their billboards and newspaper adverts!!
My V+ HD capacity will really be tested once we get SKY 1 HD - some great shows on there. God knows how i would have coped when Lost and 24 were both running!
I use the following rule of thumb when recording at the moment:
1. Will I watch it before the next episode is shown? yes - HD, no - SD
2. Is it likely to be available in HD on Demand? yes - SD, no - HD (space permitting)
Ridiculous that I'm paying over £1000 a year to Virgin and I have to restrict myself to 20 hours of recording.
yeah i agree. im the same, nearly £1200 a year when i get my VIP50 install and I cant even record all i want - oh well - im sure it will change in the future at some point.
I will defo have to follow your rule of thumb. Mine is getting me in to loads of trouble
1. did i record it? yes - keep it until i have watched it then delete
2. did the wife record it? yes - delete immediately.
ill defo have to follow yours i think!
I had planned to record Sky movies for the family in just SD, but they have noticed that the HD versions are sooooo much better and now I can't get away with that!
The microscopic HD is made far worse by Virgin's reliance on MPEG 2 encoding of course. If they'd had half a brain and used an MPEG 4 capable box when the TV Drive was in the planning stages we'd all have nearly twice the recording capacity.
As for the Sky basics, well Sky 1 used to have some decent stuff but is that still the case? The only show I'm watching now is Mad Men, which is currently internet only.
I'm also glad to hear we're getting these channels as I'm a fan of Sky Arts and some of the HBO stuff is certain to end up there.
I've written to Neil Berkett as well as noting when I've received surveys that they really need to increase the recording capacity of the V+ box. It can't hurt to reinforce this especially if it provides another revenue stream!
Thanks for keeping us updated!
Moroboshi sayz:
...If they'd had half a brain and used an MPEG 4 capable box when the TV Drive was in the planning stages we'd all have nearly twice the recording capacity.
Actually, during the BBC HD quality debate, Sky themselves stated that all their channels, which are MPEG4, run at around 15mbit, so the difference between that and the majority of VM's HD channels running at around 17mbit isn't really all that great. Sky's movie channels on VM even run as low as 16mbit, and sat viewers will tell you just how crap MPEG4 HD looks at 10mbit, as was the problem for BBC HD, and you'd need to go as low as 8 or 9mbit to double your recording capacity from what it currently is.
anyone heard when the red button feature will start?
I upgraded my Samsung V+ box to 1 TB. Haven't had to delete anything in ages. It's not very difficult to do.
Can anyone answer me this please?
I've heard people saying that you can phone up Virgin to upgrade to Sky Sports HD and they activate it within 20 mins or so. MY question is, does doing this any particular time of the month affect your bill in a way that would differ if you did it, lets say, the day your direct debit came out? I'm probably going to upgrade before the City v LIverpool game next Monday, but am wondering how much difference it would make, bill wise, to phoning up tonight and upgrading for the United v Newcastle game?
Any comments greatly welcomed, cheers.
Hi
There are more knowledgeable people on here but I believe they will just charge you pro-rata for the month. So if you are half way through your month then they would just break down what it is daily and charge you for the days you have had it in the month - not a whole months charge.
I hope that makes sense?
Post a Comment